Linear solar energy concentrator

ABSTRACT

A linear solar energy concentrator includes a fastening rack, a concentrating lens, and a line-shaped solar panel. The concentrating lens is fastened on the fastening rack. When sunlight irradiates on and penetrates through the concentrating lens, the light is concentrated onto a focal line parallel to a direction of the linear geometric structure of the concentrating lens. The solar panel is installed under the concentrating lens and located at the focal line, wherein when an incident angle of sunlight constantly changes, the light irradiating on and penetrating through the concentrating lens still is able to be concentrated onto a same location or onto locations slightly shifted each other along the focal line on the solar panel, so as to perform an energy conversion from solar energy to electricity at a substantially same amount of light without being affected by the incident angle of sunlight.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a linear solar energy concentrator adapted for a solar energy generator.

2. The Prior Arts

Conventional solar energy generators utilize a solar panel to receive solar energy from sunlight and then convert it to electricity. Since the incident angle of sunlight constantly changes, the sunlight can not directly irradiate onto the solar panel at a best angle and thus utilization of the solar energy is decreased. In order to promote the utilization of the solar energy, a complicated sun tracking apparatus including a sun tracker and a transmission mechanism has to be extra installed thereon. The sun tracker constantly detects the position of the sun and sends a signal to the transmission mechanism for driving the solar panel to face the sun. However, the conventional solar energy generator having a sun tracking apparatus is often more expensive.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A primary objective of the present invention is to provide a linear solar energy concentrator adapted for a solar energy generator, which can improve the disadvantages of the conventional solar energy generators that includes a complicated sun tracking apparatus with a high production cost.

Another objective of the present invention is to provide a linear solar energy concentrator that can concentrate different directional incident sunlight onto a focal line. A solar panel of the linear solar energy concentrator can be located at the focal line and thereby a relatively smaller area of the solar panel is required for absorbing a same amount of solar energy as that without a light concentrator.

To achieve the above-mentioned objectives, a linear solar energy concentrator is provided, which can focus a large amount of sunlight onto a small area of a solar panel to generate electricity. The linear solar energy concentrator according to the present invention comprises a fastening rack, a concentrating lens, and a line-shaped solar panel. The concentrating lens is fastened' on the fastening rack and has a linear geometric structure. When sunlight irradiates on and penetrates through the concentrating lens, the light is concentrated onto a focal line parallel to a direction of the linear geometric structure of the concentrating lens. The line-shaped solar panel is installed under the concentrating lens and located at the focal line, wherein when an incident angle of sunlight constantly changes, the light irradiating on and penetrating through the concentrating lens still is able to be concentrated onto a same location or onto locations slightly shifted each other along the focal line on the line-shaped solar panel, so as to perform an energy conversion from solar energy to electricity at a substantially same amount of light without being affected by the incident angle of sunlight.

According to an aspect of the present invention, the concentrating lens can be made of any translucent material, such as glass or polymer. The concentrating lens may be of a tubular shape or an arc sheet shape each with a proper curvature, so as to concentrate the incident light onto a focal line on the line-shaped solar panel. The concentrating lens may be a toroidal lens or a toroidal Fresnel lens.

According to another aspect of the present invention, the tubular shaped concentrating lens comprises an outer ring member and an inner core surrounded by and being concentric with the outer ring member. The outer ring member and the inner core each have a different refractive index from each other, for refracting, internally reflecting, and concentrating the incident light to the focal line. The inner core of the tubular-shaped concentrating lens is a liquid or a gas, which is capable of absorbing the infrared of the sunlight for achieving a cooling purpose, the heated liquid or gas by the sunlight is capable of being recycled and used for other purposes, so as to save energy. Furthermore, the concentrating lens may comprise multiple ring members and multiple cores each surrounded between two adjacent ring members. The ring members and the cores each have a different refractive index from each other, for refracting and internally reflecting the incident light to a focal line parallel to a direction of a linear geometric structure of the concentrating lens. The cores of the concentrating lens are a liquid, such as water, or other liquids, or a gas.

In comparison with the conventional arts, the concentrating lens of the linear solar energy concentrator according to the present invention can concentrate incident light onto a relatively small area of the solar panel, which will not be affected by the incident angle of light; and thereby the required area of the solar panel can be reduced.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art by reading the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment thereof, with reference to the attached drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a linear solar energy concentrator according to a first embodiment of the present invention, in which a concentrating lens of the linear solar energy concentrator is of a tubular shape;

FIG. 2 is a schematic view of a linear solar energy concentrator according to a second embodiment of the present invention, in which a concentrating lens of the linear solar energy concentrator is of an arc sheet shape;

FIG. 2 a is a schematic view showing a reflecting path of a light beam between a concentrating lens and a solar panel; and

FIG. 3 is a schematic view of a linear solar energy concentrator according to a third embodiment of the present invention, in which the concentrating lens of the linear solar energy concentrator has an end light reflector located at both ends of the concentrating lens to reflect the light back to the solar panel.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the invention, and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification. The drawings illustrate embodiments of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a linear solar energy concentrator according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The linear solar energy concentrator according to the present invention comprises a concentrating lens 1, a line-shaped solar panel 2 and a fastening rack 3. The concentrating lens 1 is of a tubular shape and is fastened on the fastening rack 3. The line-shaped solar panel 2 is of an elongated shape and installed under the concentrating lens 1. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the concentrating lens 1 can be made of any translucent material, such as glass or polymer. The concentrating lens 1 comprises an outer ring member 11 and an inner core 12 surrounded by and being concentric with the outer ring member 11. The outer ring member 11 and the inner core 12 each have a different refractive index from each other, for refracting and internally reflecting the incident light to a focal line parallel to a direction of a linear geometric structure of the concentrating lens. In this embodiment of the present invention, the inner core 12 of the concentrating lens 1 is a liquid, such as water, or other liquids, or a gas. When sunlight irradiates on the concentrating lens 1 and further penetrates through the outer ring member 11 and the inner core 12, the light is refracted, internally reflected between the concentrating lens and the solar panel, and concentrated onto a focal line where the line-shaped solar panel 2 is placed thereon. The concentrated light is absorbed and converted to electricity by the line-shaped solar panel 2. The concentration characteristic of the linear solar energy concentrator allows for producing a much smaller area of the line-shaped solar panel 2, and thereby resulting in a less expensive production cost. Moreover, the liquid or gas in the inner core 12 can absorb the infrared of sunlight for achieving a cooling purpose. The heated liquid or gas by the sunlight can be recycled and used for other purposes, so as to save energy.

Furthermore, the concentrating lens 1 may comprise multiple ring members and multiple cores each surrounded between two adjacent ring members. The ring members and the cores each have a different refractive index from each other, for refracting and internally reflecting the incident light to a focal line parallel to a direction of a linear geometric structure of the concentrating lens. The cores of the concentrating lens are a liquid, such as water, or other liquids, or a gas.

By making use of the linear solar energy concentrator shown in FIG. 1, the tubular-shaped structure of the concentrating lens 1 according to the present invention is configured with a proper curvature and can concentrate the sunlight onto a strip of area of the line-shaped solar panel 2. Even though the incident angle of sunlight constantly changes, the sunlight still can be concentrated onto a same location or onto locations slightly shifted each other along the focal line on the line-shaped solar panel 2. Therefore, a solar energy generator equipped with the linear solar energy concentrator according to the first embodiment of the present invention can perform an energy conversion from solar energy to electricity at a substantially same amount of light without being affected by the incident angle of sunlight.

In consideration of increasing electricity generation, the linear solar energy concentrator according to the present invention may include a plurality of concentrating lens, a plurality of line-shaped solar panels 2, and a plurality of fastening racks 3. The plurality of concentrating lens may be arranged to form a concentrating lens array.

FIG. 2 is a schematic view of a linear solar energy concentrator according to a second embodiment of the present invention. The linear solar energy concentrator according to the present invention comprises an arc sheet shaped concentrating lens 1′, a line-shaped solar panel 2′, and a fastening rack 3′. The arc sheet shaped concentrating lens 1′ is fastened on the fastening rack 3′. The line-shaped solar panel 2′ is of an elongated shape and installed under the concentrating lens 1′. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the concentrating lens 1′ can be made of any translucent material, such as glass or polymer. A surface of the concentrating lens 1′ is configured with a proper curvature for refracting and internally reflecting the incident light to a focal line parallel to a direction of a linear geometric structure of the concentrating lens. FIG. 2 a shows a reflecting path of a light beam between the concentrating lens and the solar panel. The concentrating lens 1′ may be a toroidal lens or a toroidal Fresnel lens.

When the sunlight irradiates onto the arc sheet shaped concentrating lens 1′, the light is refracted, reflected between the concentrating lens 1′ and the line-shaped solar panel 2′, and concentrated onto a focal line where the line-shaped solar panel 2′ is placed thereto. The concentrated light is absorbed and converted to electricity by the line-shaped solar panel 2′. The concentration characteristic of the linear solar energy concentrator allows for producing a much smaller area of the line-shaped solar panel 2′, and thereby resulting in a less expensive production cost.

By making use of the linear solar energy concentrator shown in FIG. 2, the arc sheet shaped structure of the concentrating lens 1′ according to the present invention can concentrate an incident sunlight onto a strip of area of the line-shaped solar panel 2′. Even though the incident angle of the sunlight constantly changes, the sunlight still can be concentrated onto a same location or onto locations slightly shifted each other along the focal line on the line-shaped solar panel 2′. Therefore, a solar energy generator equipped with the linear solar energy concentrator according to the second embodiment of the present invention can perform an energy conversion from solar energy to electricity at a substantially same amount of light without being affected by the incident angle of sunlight.

Furthermore, in order to prevent two ends of the focal line from shift, the concentrating lens 1′ may be designed to have an end light reflector 4′ located at both ends of the concentrating lens to reflect the light back to the solar panel (see FIG. 3).

Although the present invention has been described with reference to the preferred embodiments thereof, it is apparent to those skilled in the art that a variety of modifications and changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention which is intended to be defined by the appended claims. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A linear solar energy concentrator, comprising: a fastening rack; a concentrating lens fastened on the fastening rack and having a linear geometric structure, in which when sunlight irradiates on and penetrates through the concentrating lens, the light is concentrated onto a focal line parallel to a direction of the linear geometric structure of the concentrating lens; a line-shaped solar panel installed under the concentrating lens and located at the focal line, wherein when an incident angle of sunlight constantly changes, the light irradiating on and penetrating through the concentrating lens still is able to be concentrated onto a same location or onto locations slightly shifted each other along the focal line on the line-shaped solar panel, so as to perform an energy conversion from solar energy to electricity at a substantially same amount of light without being affected by the incident angle of sunlight.
 2. The linear solar energy concentrator according to claim 1, wherein the concentrating lens has an end light reflector located at both ends of the concentrating lens to reflect the light back to the solar panel.
 3. The linear solar energy concentrator according to claim 1, wherein the linear geometric structure of the concentrating lens is of a tubular shape.
 4. The linear solar energy concentrator according to claim 1, wherein the linear geometric structure of the concentrating lens is of an arc sheet shape.
 5. The linear solar energy concentrator according to claim 1, wherein the concentrating lens is a toroidal lens or a toroidal Fresnel lens.
 6. The linear solar energy concentrator according to claim 1, wherein the line-shaped solar panel is of an elongated shape parallel to the focal line and allowing the concentrated light to irradiate there onto.
 7. The linear solar energy concentrator according to claim 1, further comprising a plurality of concentrating lens arranged to form a concentrating lens array.
 8. The linear solar energy concentrator according to claim 3, wherein the concentrating lens comprises an outer ring member and an inner core surrounded by and being concentric with the outer ring member, the outer ring member and the inner core each have a different refractive index from each other, for refracting, internally reflecting and concentrating the incident light to the focal line.
 9. The linear solar energy concentrator according to claim 8, wherein the inner core of the tubular-shaped concentrating lens is a liquid or a gas, which is capable of absorbing the infrared of the sunlight for achieving a cooling purpose, the heated liquid or gas by the sunlight is capable of being recycled and used for other purposes, so as to save energy.
 10. The linear solar energy concentrator according to claim 1, wherein the concentrating lens comprises multiple ring members and multiple cores each surrounded between two adjacent ring members, the ring members and the cores each have a different refractive index from each other, for refracting, internally reflecting and concentrating the incident light to the focal line.
 11. The linear solar energy concentrator according to claim 10, wherein the cores of the concentrating lens between two adjacent ring members are a liquid or a gas, which is capable of absorbing the infrared of the sunlight for achieving a cooling purpose, the heated liquid or gas by the sunlight is capable of being recycled and used for other purposes, so as to save energy. 